Bitcoin (BTC) could reach between $500,000 and $1 million in the current market cycle, according to Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, or CZ, who shared his outlook during a recent interview that touched on both the state of crypto and his own role in the industry.

The entrepreneur pointed to growing institutional interest, changes in regulations and wider acceptance as the main reasons for his prediction. 

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With Bitcoin ETFs approved in the U.S. and more involvement from sovereign wealth funds and traditional finance, he thinks the market is in a strong position to expand further. Zhao did not give a timeline but said the infrastructure and momentum are in place for a solid price move.

The conversation also covered the general direction of the crypto space. While meme coins have captured much of the attention, CZ noted that nearly all will likely fail.

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He sees the long-term value instead coming from areas like artificial intelligence, decentralized science (DeSci) and real-world asset tokenization – segments that, in his view, are still underappreciated but gaining traction.

Now no longer the CEO of Binance, CZ described his current role as one of support rather than leadership. He remains a key shareholder and is focused on mentoring founders, investing in decentralized technologies and building educational platforms.

He said that centralized exchanges are still a major way for a lot of users to get involved, but in the long run, the future of trading is probably going to be more focused on decentralized infrastructure.

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Reflecting on his four-month prison sentence, CZ described the experience as difficult but clarifying. It made him focus more on health, family and long-term impact instead of on running the business or being in the public eye.